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As a new year begins, many of us take time to reflect on the old year and set goals for the new one. On a personal level, I defined 2011 as a year of disappointments and hope, and 2012 as the year of perseverance and faith. Just the other day, I found a short note that I wrote exactly a year ago, that I could define as a short poem, but also a prayer and a statement of a wish I wanted to come true. I don’t know if the fact that I wrote it down engraved this prayer in my heart and increased my belief, but that prayer came true a few months later. Lire la suite →

One cause for confusion with the French language, especially for a native English speaker, is genders. The concept even is misunderstood, and its impact underestimated. So I have a few examples of these coming up on our blog, and you will see what a difference gender makes! Lire la suite →

WordPress:

If you ever go to a USC (that is University of South Carolina) football game, you will find yourself screaming « Go cocks! »… Very strange at first! We brought my French sister and brother-in-law to a game a couple of years ago, and we could not stop laughing because the other side of the stadium was prompted to scream « Game », and our side had to scream « Cocks »… this lasted a whole game. So we translated with the alternative meaning of cock=rooster (so right, the other meaning…), and in French, that is: « Allez les bites! » (We wanted to text it to the big board but it did not work… I wish! I would have taken a picture!). Lire la suite →

Deadlines, rush jobs and tighter deadlines… The life of a translator! In fact, deadlines are part of our daily lives, whether we deliver services or products, draw up reports or write up articles, or pay any type of bills. Personally, I like to give myself a limit date before the deadline, to leave myself time for proofreading if it has not been done yet, and for unexpected issues. I use my Outlook or Google calendar, to set my projects up with their respective timeframes and priority levels. How do you manage your deadlines, any tips?

Today’s word, as you can tell, is also a “faux-ami” (false cognate); beware not to mix-up with “delay” (retard). You don’t want to run into any delays for your délai…

Il est primordial de respecter les délais, tout autant que de fournir un travail de qualité. // It is of upmost important to meet deadlines, as much as providing quality work.

Les candidatures doivent être déposées avant le 29 février si on veut postuler pour cette mission. // The deadline to drop off applications is February 29, if you want to apply for this project.

Je suis vraiment navré de vous apprendre que je ne vais pas pouvoir rendre le rapport dans les délais convenus. // I am so sorry to have to tell you that I will not be able to return the report by the agreed deadline.

Good luck in meeting your deadlines; bonne chance pour respecter vos délais !
Don’t forget to comment below if you have any time management tips (des “tuyaux”) to share with us… Have a great week!

On s’en sort beaucoup mieux quand on s’occupe de ses préparatifs de voyage longtemps à l’avance. // It easier to manage when you take care of the preparations for your trip well in advance.

Les préparatifs de mariage sont très fastidieux à cause de l’élément « émotions humaines » et à cause du nombre de personnes qui veulent s’en mêler… // Wedding preparations are very tedious because of the “human emotions” element and because of the number of people who want to get involved.

Quels sont les préparatifs inclus dans votre liste pour préparer un déplacement important ?What type of preparations do you include on your checklist before an important trip?

Or if you are like me, you may favor « memo/ reminders » over lists… And in French, we call these « pense-bêtes » or « aide-mémoires« . Happy Saturday!